Open Book [Chrollo Lucilfer x Reader]

vii. interlude

"On the first rain of the ninth month,

A red-eyed customer will appear in your shop, harbinger of death,Do well to not helpFor if you do, your past will chain you down.

The book's secrets you must keep,

For the calendar to keep its second page.Unite with the spider, and seek out the harbinger of death,Stay in the shadows. Those you like will turn against you.

On a hot day head east, sticking with the head.

Those whose secrets you once kept will cause you to wither.Eventually the black ship will approach,Where the sea will take you to an eternal slumber. "

You were going to die, sometime in the future. Great. Great. There was nothing else 'eternal slumber' could mean, and you tried to decipher the rest of the poem. The first stanza already happened — the blond was the culprit after all, the "red-eyed customer". What would have happened if you had helped? Most likely, the Troupe would have killed you.

The second stanza... You'd assume the "book's secrets" was a reference to your hatsu. Was it a warning to not give out Hisoka's secret? You hadn't planned on it anyways, but it seemed to reference the death of somebody else if you did... The calendar was deduced earlier to be the Spider, but you weren't sure who the second page would be. And according to this poem, you'd have to join the Troupe and find the Chain User while staying in the shadows... Behind the scenes? And you weren't even sure there was anybody you actually liked - that last line made no sense.

And the last stanza... The person whose secrets you once kept... Was Hisoka going to kill you? Was this a warning to not get on any ships or go across the ocean? You didn't like that at all.

The fortune was gently taken from your hands by Chrollo, and you watched stone-faced as he read the fortune out loud in an even tone.

"You worked with the Chain User?!"

This was from Nobunaga, and you pursed your lips in thought. "No," you said sharply. "I was approached by him, but didn't realize it was him until just now. I refused to help him." Chrollo nodded, ruminating over the rest of the fortune before turning to you, his expression unreadable.

"The book's secrets must be your information. If you give us Hisoka's information," Chrollo tapped the paper for emphasis, "Feitan will most likely die."

Feitan was the second page? Considering he had mostly grown up in Meteor City, you figured it made sense.

Chrollo continued on, deducing your fortune and narrowing it down much better than you had. "You're supposed to join us and draw out the chain user to keep Feitan alive," he pointed out. "And head east..."

"Danchou is also supposed to head east, right?"

A girl with glasses spoke up absentmindedly — Shizuku, you think you heard somebody call her earlier. Chrollo's lips twitched upwards for a moment before slipping back into his stoic mask.

"You'd be joining me in east," he confirmed. "'Sticking with the head'." You didn't like the sound of that at all as he tapped the page once more. "And then you'll most likely board a ship and die."

"Thanks for talking about my death so casually." Your tone was sardonic, but your gaze was thoughtful and turned upwards. "I'm not going to be able to read Hisoka's information, it seems."